This was our first river cruise, though we have done several ocean cruises. The ships on the Douro are very small, ours had a maximum of 106 passengers, but only 87 were onboard. There is one dining room, and everyone eats at the same time. Tours are included, so everyone tours at the same time. I read another review that described river cruising as a bus tour on water, and that is really what it felt like. With such a small ship there were few amenities, no gym, shops, entertainment. There was one large lounge/bar where everyone could gather, and if the weather was warm enough you could go on the top deck, which was very nice. The scenery on the Douro is very pleasant, steep hills, vineyards, small villages. The tours were very good as well. The Douro is very popular with river boats, and they all stop at the same ports. That meant that at some ports we were docked next to (almost touching) another ship, sometimes three abreast, which kind of ruined sitting on your balcony. We had to cross another ship to get on and off. This we had not expected.

Also, unfortunately, towards the end of the 7-day cruise Covid ran through the ship, despite daily PCR tests, everyone being vaccinated, and masking always when onshore. Masking was not required on the ship, though many did, except in the dining room. Nearly half the passengers had at least one of the couple test positive, and wound up having to isolate in a hotel for 9 days at the end of the cruise, us included. The hotel was brand new and very nice, we had a balcony overlooking the river, which helped us keep our sanity over the 9 days of isolation. We were not allowed to leave the room, but all our needs were looked after, and Viking paid all the bills, for which we are very grateful. However, we decided that river cruises were not for us, and we much prefer ocean cruising.